Pharmacists nervous but optimistic as Gov. Shapiro signs pharmacy benefit manager regulation into law
Even as Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a bill regulating pharmacy benefit managers into Pennsylvania law Wednesday, some local pharmacists remained apprehensive about the future. The bill sets restrictions on pharmacy benefit managers, third-party intermediaries that work with drug manufacturers, pharmacies and insurance providers. Pharmacy benefit managers reimburse pharmacies for the...
Amazon Prime Day is a major cause of injuries for warehouse workers, Senate review says
NEW YORK — Amazon’s popular Prime Day sales event has been “a major cause of injuries” for warehouse workers who pick and pack customer orders at the e-commerce giant’s facilities across the United States, according to a report released Tuesday by Sen. Bernie Sanders. The report, which draws information from...
As covid cases surge, here’s what local doctors advise
If you’re feeling the early signs and symptoms of a respiratory infection — fever, cough, a sore throat, congestion, or even abdominal pain or diarrhea — it might be a good time to take a covid test, local doctors say. Though the numbers have waned drastically from the early days...
Extreme heat and some medicines can be a risky combo. Here’s what to know
Extreme heat can raise the danger of heat-related illnesses and threaten health in a more subtle way — by amplifying the side effects of many common medications. Hot weather, too, can damage medicines such as insulin that require refrigeration. Inhalers can explode. Epinephrine injectors such as EpiPens can malfunction. Meds...
Pharmacy benefit manager bill headed to Pa. governor’s desk
A bill placing regulations on pharmacy benefit managers is headed to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk. The bill, which began in the state House, passed overwhelmingly in the state Senate on Wednesday with some revisions. Those revisions were approved 172-30 in the House on Thursday. The bill sets restrictions on...
Restrictions on pharmacy benefit managers pass in Pa. Senate with some changes
A bill placing regulations on pharmacy benefit managers — third-party intermediaries who work with drug manufacturers, pharmacies and insurance providers — passed overwhelmingly in the Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday with some revisions. The new version of the bill now returns to the House to approve the revisions before heading to...
A rare voice box transplant helped a cancer patient speak again, part of a pioneering studyVideo
WASHINGTON — A Massachusetts man has regained his voice after surgeons removed his cancerous larynx and, in a pioneering move, replaced it with a donated one. Transplants of the so-called voice box are extremely rare, and normally aren’t an option for people with active cancer. Marty Kedian is only the...
Proposed IUP medical school picks up $2M donation
Indiana University of Pennsylvania has picked up another $2 million toward its proposed college of osteopathic medicine, campus officials announced Tuesday. It comes from Tim and Debra Phillips Cejka, IUP graduates and longtime campus supporters. In remarks prepared for the gift’s announcement, Tim Cejka told his alma mater that the...
Drugs like Ozempic linked to lower cancer risk in study
Blockbuster weight loss and diabetes drugs might lower patients’ risk of developing some common types of cancer that are closely linked to obesity, new evidence suggests. Patients with Type 2 diabetes who were prescribed drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, developed fewer obesity-related cancers than patients who were treated...
Colorado dairy worker tests positive for bird flu, 4th person linked to outbreak
A fourth farm worker has been infected with bird flu in the growing outbreak linked to dairy cows, health officials reported Wednesday. The worker had direct contact with infected dairy cows on a northeast Colorado farm, state and federal health officials said. The man developed pink eye, or conjunctivitis, received...
Pa.’s health secretary wins Senate confirmation to the post on 2nd try
After 18 months as serving as the acting head of Pennsylvania’s Department of Health, Dr. Debra Bogen is now the state’s health secretary. Bogen, a pediatrician and former head of the Allegheny County Health Department, won Senate confirmation on Tuesday by a 42-8 bipartisan vote. “I look forward to continuing...
FDA approves a 2nd Alzheimer’s drug that can modestly slow disease
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials have approved another Alzheimer’s drug that can modestly slow the disease, providing a new option for patients in the early stages of the incurable, memory-destroying ailment. The Food and Drug Administration approved Eli Lilly’s Kisunla on Tuesday for mild or early cases of dementia caused by...
New Florence mosquito tests positive for virus similar to West Nile
A mosquito sample taken in New Florence has tested positive for a rare disease that first cropped up in Colorado in 1961 and has been known to cause severe conditions including infection of the brain and spinal cord. There haven’t been any reported cases of the Jamestown Canyon virus being...
The U.S. will pay Moderna $176 million to develop an mRNA pandemic flu vaccine
The U.S. government will pay the vaccine maker Moderna $176 million to accelerate development of a pandemic influenza vaccine that could be used to treat bird flu in people, as concern grows about cases in dairy cows across the country, federal officials announced Tuesday. Moderna already has a bird flu...
Dengue fever confirmed in Florida Keys as U.S. on watch for rise in mosquito illness
MIAMI — Two people have fallen ill with dengue fever in the Florida Keys after being bit by infected mosquitoes, prompting health officials to issue an alert for the island chain. The alert comes just days after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory warning...
U.S. miners’ union head: Republican effort to block silica dust rule ‘attack’ on workers
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The head of the national mine workers’ union Friday condemned what he characterized as an effort by House Republicans to block enforcement of a long-awaited federal rule directed at curbing workers’ exposure to poisonous, deadly rock dust, calling it “a direct attack on the health and safety...
Regulations on pharmacy benefit managers pass in state House, head to Senate
Regulations on pharmacy benefit managers — third-party intermediaries who work with drug manufacturers, pharmacies and insurance providers — took a leap forward Friday at the state level. House Bill 1993 would put pharmacy benefit managers under more intense state scrutiny and limit certain practices that pose some of the greatest...
Research gives more reassurance milk pasteurization kills bird flu, officials say
NEW YORK — A new study that recreated commercial pasteurization in a government lab provides reassurance heat treatment kills bird flu virus in cows’ milk, U.S. officials said Friday. When the bird flu known as H5N1 first was detected in U.S. dairy cows this year, there were no studies of...
Gen Z’s skincare craze: Balancing beauty routines and rising health concerns
Adelle Hayes, 15, of Peters Township, likes how she feels after her skin care routine. She enjoys caring for her skin and watching TikTok influencer Katie Fang’s “Get Ready With Me” multi-step skincare routines. “Her skin is incredibly clear, and I haven’t seen a pimple yet,” Hayes said. Skin care...
Cochlear implants transformed audiologist’s life, now she’s expanded her business to Wilkins
For Suzanne Yoder, who grew up hearing impaired and now owns her own audiology practice, getting cochlear implants changed her life. “I don’t like to use the word ‘miracle’ too lightly, but for me, it was a miracle — because it gave me back my independence,” she said. Cochlear implants...
World FSHD Day resolution introduced on Capitol Hill
After years of advocating for a cure for the rare disease that has limited his mobility, Mark Christman has made his way to Capitol Hill. Christman, a retired attorney and board member of Trib Total Media, was diagnosed with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD, in 1977 at age 16. One...
Health officials tell U.S. doctors to be alert for dengue
NEW YORK — U.S. health officials Tuesday warned doctors to be alert for dengue cases as the tropical disease breaks international records. The virus, which is spread by mosquitoes, has been surging worldwide, helped by climate change. In barely six months, countries in the Americas have already broken calendar-year records...
Getting rid of poison ivy is a serious matter — what you should and shouldn’t do
For all the time I spend digging, planting, pulling and weeding, one would think I’d have some poison ivy horror stories to tell, but I do not. I can’t say for sure whether I’m immune to the rash that tortures so many of my fellow gardeners or if I’ve just...
U.S. surgeon general declares gun violence a public health emergency
WASHINGTON — The U.S. surgeon general on Tuesday declared gun violence a public health crisis, driven by the fast-growing number of injuries and deaths involving firearms in the country. The advisory issued by Dr. Vivek Murthy, the nation’s top doctor, came as the U.S. grappled with another summer weekend marked...
Mutual Aid EMS planning July 5 blood drive
Mutual Aid EMS is hosting a blood drive July 5, two months after paramedics became the first in Westmoreland County to carry blood to emergencies. The drive, in partnership with the American Red Cross, will be held 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the agency’s EMS base at 561 W....
